We trial-fit the transmission and the emergency-brake mounts, and tack-welded them in place along with a piece of metal to fill in the gap we cut out of the crossmember. Always tack-weld and then check everything before you finalize all of your welding. This makes it easier if any of the parts need tweaking later. Once youre sure that everything will fit properly, go ahead and finish welding all of the mounts.

Here you can see the new mount with the transmission installed. Also, dont forget to fill the torque converter before you install the transmission. Since you already have the transmission out of the car, take the time to install a new transmission rubber mount; there really is no better time. You can see the added bracing we installed on the bottom side of the crossmember mount. Take your time and fit things properlyyoull have a finished product thats strong and looks great.

Pay particular attention to the emergency-brake cable coming down from the floorboard. Make sure theres enough clearance that the driveshaft wont interfere with the cable. Also make sure that the mount for the cable wheel does not make contact with the floorboard of the car.

We put new transmission-fluid cooler lines on the car. These little sections that go into the radiator are often overlooked or neglected. We ordered the correct pieces from Corvette Central rather than use straight pieces bent to fit.

The shifter had to be modified because of the extra detent needed for Fourth gear. This is done by drilling out the welds that hold the shifter gate in place and bolting in the new gate supplied in the shifter-upgrade kit we got from Fourth Gear.

Make sure you install the seal that goes between the T.V. cable and the transmission, or youll have a leak.

One of the improvements that every automatic-equipped Corvette since 1982 has over the others is the 700-R4 transmission, which contains an Overdrive (Fourth gear) and a torque converter clutch providing for better fuel mileage and more flexibility when deciding on a differential gear ratio. Many owners of the earlier sharks would like to take advantage of the newer technology, but updating to a more modern 700-R4 will take some modification. The Corvette Clinic was doing an upgrade to a 700-R4, and we rode along to show our readers just what Chris Petris does to address several issues that occur when doing such a swap.